A two-month ceasefire has given aid groups a chance to step up aid to Yemen's hungry millions, but malnutrition ravaging children is projected to worsen if fighting returns or humanitarian funding does not pick up.
More than seven years of conflict in Yemen have devastated the economy, displaced millions and pushed food prices out of the reach of many. Surging grain and commodity prices globally are adding further strain.
"The benefits of the first weeks of truce are already significant," said Erin Hutchinson, Yemen director for the Norwegian Refugee Council.
The group has been able to give aid to 12,000 people in one district of Hajjah province that has not been reached for more than three years.
"Tens of millions of people in Yemen are living hand-to-mouth," said Richard Ragan of the World Food Programme (WFP), which is trying to feed half of Yemen's 30 million people in one of its largest programmes.
Stunted and weakened by severe malnourishment, one-year-old Jiad Jalal's skin is dry and wrinkled over his protruding skull, limbs and stomach.
Living in a makeshift displacement camp in Khadish, Hajjah, one of Yemen's poorest regions, Jalal is one of 2.2 million children under five — including 538,000 severely malnourished — who will suffer acute malnutrition this year, according to pre-ceasefire UN estimates.
"We eat only what we can get from aid agencies. Wheat, beans and such items. If we don't receive food, then some days we eat and other days we go hungry," said his grandmother Zahra Ahmed.
"We are trapped between hunger and exhaustion. Look at the children," she said, gesturing to Jiad who they cannot afford to take to the capital Sanaa for treatment.
Hunger and malnutrition have worsened this year, the UN's March data showed. The global body projected that those unable to secure minimum nutrition will hit a new high of 19 million, up from 17.4 million currently, between June and December.
The number facing famine-like conditions could increase from 31,000 to 161,000 people, the UN's Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis said.
In Al Mahra, in Yemen's east, women in a displacement camp of tattered shelters built outdoor fires to fry dough balls that children eat, and pat bread into hot mud ovens.
We adults, we have to be patient and go hungry to feed the children
Fatima Qayed,
a mother of 10
"We adults, we have to be patient and go hungry to feed the children. If only you could see how sick I am, because I only feed my children," said Fatima Qayed, a mother of 10.
She said they only get aid once a year, during Ramadan, and rarely see meat. They buy food by collecting and selling plastic cans.
Seham Abdelhakim, a mother of four, feeds her young children sugar and water because she is unable to obtain milk.
"When I'm pregnant I barely eat, just tea and bread ... After I give birth it's the same thing; we have no chicken or anything. All I pray for is to hug my child after giving birth," she said.
When I'm pregnant I barely eat, just tea and bread ... After I give birth it's the same thing; we have no chicken or anything
Seham Abdelhakim,
a mother of four
UN Yemen Envoy Hans Grundberg said this week the two-month truce, which began on April 2 to coincide with Ramadan, was broadly holding with a "significant reduction of violence and civilian casualties".
The truce, the first nationwide cessation of hostilities since 2016, includes a halt to offensive military operations, and allows fuel imports into areas controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthi group and some commercial flights to operate from Houthi-held Sanaa.
Yemen Airways is scheduled to start operating return flights between Sanaa and Amman, Jordan, from Sunday.
A military coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened in March 2015 to support Yemen's internationally recognised government against the Houthis.
The ceasefire has allowed the WFP and commercial partners to increase milling and distribution work, Mr Ragan said.
The truce "is good for Yemen but it's also good for the humanitarian operations that are so desperately needed to get up and running," he said.
He said the WFP's operations were 60 to 75 days behind schedule because of a previous escalation in fighting.
Should peace not allow Yemen's economy to rebuild, at least 80 per cent of the country will continue to rely on humanitarian assistance.
But in March, the UN received only $1.3 billion for 2022, well short of the planned $4.27 billion. Additional pledges have since come from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the EU, but funding remains precarious.
The WFP has since January reduced rations for 8 million of the 13 million people it feeds a month due to funding shortages.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
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Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
THE BIO
Mr Al Qassimi is 37 and lives in Dubai
He is a keen drummer and loves gardening
His favourite way to unwind is spending time with his two children and cooking
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Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
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Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
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The biog
Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Date started: March 2016
Founder: Hasib Khan
Based: Dubai
Employees: 40
Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.
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The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
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Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
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Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
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Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
